When the email notice for The Weekend Conversation landed on Saturday, I was intrigued and slightly startled by the opening teaser from the site’s Science + Technology editor, Paul Dalgarno. He got one…
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The Federal Government has sparked significant debate with the confirmation it intends to move from a fixed carbon price to an emissions trading scheme next year. But where is the description of the long…
Many are puzzled by the political theory of carbon markets. Why does the Institute for Public Affairs – a libertarian think tank – oppose a market in carbon? Tim Wilson, for example, thinks that private…
Though the date is now in flux, then-Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s decision to announce the election months in advance has meant the campaigning in Eden-Monaro began some time ago. There are already six…
“The numbers have spiked. Twenty per cent of Australia’s immigration program now comes to our shores courtesy of people smugglers… You’re dealing with a very different situation when you’ve got what could…
Today, a specially convened meeting of the Labor caucus will decide on proposed changes to how the party selects its parliamentary leader. The politics of leadership in Australia have been described as…
Most Australians will judge Kevin Rudd’s newly announced plan to deny asylum seekers who arrive by boat the right to settle in Australia to be a success if it leads to a reduction in the number of boat…
With speculation reaching fever pitch about election timing, voters from the bellwether seat of Eden-Monaro are strongly urging Kevin Rudd to call the poll quickly. The University of Canberra, in conjunction…
The good thing about Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s proposal for “a new national competitiveness agenda” to be approached with “a new sense of national urgency” is that it is an advance on much of the meaningless…
Shakespeare’s plays and cancer: two seemingly unrelated topics with an underlying common thread. The techniques that computational linguistics and computer scientists use to analyse the Bard’s works are…
Recent conversations about carbon pricing are still framed within gentle themes of continuing growth and well-being, where no one has to pay more for anything without being compensated. The words that…
Many people who have had a stroke believe that their family history is the main reason for it, regardless of how well they look after themselves. While a family history of cardiovascular disease does increase…
Australian higher education is dominated by its universities, and therefore by institutions that have dual teaching and research missions. There is a long debate about whether these two activities complement…
The precise details of the refugee resettlement deal struck between Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd and his Papua New Guinean counterpart Peter O'Neill are yet to be revealed. But what we do know…
The new asylum seeker arrangement between Australia and Papua New Guinea is almost certain not to comply with Australia’s international law obligations. In favour of the Australian government’s legal position…
Announcements last week of the escalating damage to the Great Barrier Reef confirm Australia’s most famous and intensely managed Marine Protected Area has not been properly protected. UNESCO’s recent review…
Kevin Rudd has pulled out every available stop to persuade voters that he can stop the boats - not immediately, but eventually. The Australian government has spectacularly outsourced its asylum seeker…
Asylum seekers who arrive in Australian waters by boat will no longer have the chance to be settled in Australia under new policies announced by prime minister Kevin Rudd. Instead, asylum seekers arriving…
Perhaps the only positive note that can be sounded on the Australian science literacy survey results, released on Wednesday by the Australian Academy of Science (AAS), is they are somewhat better than…
Public attitudes towards drugs are shaped by many things, including high-profile celebrity encounters with drugs and addiction. One unfortunate example of this involves popular Canadian actor Cory Monteith…
The future of Whitehaven Coal’s Maules Creek mine has become a legal issue. The mine’s approval is being challenged in Federal Court; the company’s representatives say if the approval is overturned, they…
The corporate regulator’s approval of Virgin Australia’s 60% stake in fledgling low-cost carrier Tigerair (formerly known as Tiger Airways) marks the Australian aviation industry’s return to an effective…
Australia has some of the world’s most ancient soils, many of which grow delicious produce. In this series, “The good earth”, soil scientist Robert Edis profiles some of those soils and the flavours they…
The big question for the coming weeks is whether voters’ deep and long-held disillusionment with brand Labor will prevail over their enthusiastic re-engagement with its popular leader. Labor has reached…
Imagine you’re on a spaceship with engine trouble. Your captain knows she must land the ship for repairs. The navigator identifies two viable planets that could do the job. Little is known of either, other…